We must have often heard the term “Dark” continent being used for the African landmass. But what makes us believe that definition easily ? Well one major factor contributing towards that description is the geography and the social status of the continent. Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most-populous continent. It has 54 countries, 9 territories and three de facto states with limited recognition. Geographically speaking it is a conglomerate of deserts, mountains and dense forests. Its northern half is primarily desert or arid, while its central and southern areas contain both savanna plains and very dense jungle (rainforest) regions. Africa is the hottest continent on earth; dry lands and deserts comprise 60% of the entire land surface. It is also home to a variety of "jungle" animals including snakes and primates and aquatic life such as crocodiles and amphibians. Deforestation is affecting Africa at twice the world rate, according to the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). According to the University of Pennsylvania African Studies Center, 31% of Africa's pasture lands and 19% of its forests and woodlands are classified as degraded, and Africa is losing over four million hectares of forest every year, which is twice the average deforestation rate compared to the rest of the world. About 65% of Africa's agricultural land suffers from soil degradation. Poverty, illiteracy, malnutrition and inadequate water supply and sanitation, as well as poor health, affect a large proportion of the people who reside in the African continent.
As there are two sides of a coin, the continent also has its riches: The continent is believed to hold 90% of the world’s cobalt, 90% of its platinum, 50% of its gold, 98% of its chromium, 70% of its tantalite, 64% of its manganese and one-third of its uranium. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has 70% of the world’s coltan, and most mobile phones in the world are made with elements refined from this mineral. The DRC also has more than 30% of the world’s diamond reserves. Guinea is the world’s largest exporter of bauxite. Slowly the darkness seems to be fading out? A similar effort by Famous geographers like David living stone and Stanley with funding from their native countries discovered several river courses, unearthing the hidden and otherwise ‘dark’ part of the globe.
History:
Gone are those days when Africa was infamous for its slave trade. Slavery had long been practiced in Africa. Between the 7th and 20th centuries, Arab slave trade took 18 million slaves from Africa via trans-Saharan and Indian Ocean routes. . As a result of industrialization, major social problems had grown in Europe: unemployment, poverty, homelessness, social displacement from rural areas, and so on. These social problems developed partly because not all people could be absorbed by the new capitalist industries. One way to resolve this problem was to acquire colonies and export this "surplus population." This led to the establishment of settler-colonies in Algeria, Tunisia, South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Mozambique, and central African areas like Zimbabwe and Zambia.
As there are two sides of a coin, the continent also has its riches: The continent is believed to hold 90% of the world’s cobalt, 90% of its platinum, 50% of its gold, 98% of its chromium, 70% of its tantalite, 64% of its manganese and one-third of its uranium. The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) has 70% of the world’s coltan, and most mobile phones in the world are made with elements refined from this mineral. The DRC also has more than 30% of the world’s diamond reserves. Guinea is the world’s largest exporter of bauxite. Slowly the darkness seems to be fading out? A similar effort by Famous geographers like David living stone and Stanley with funding from their native countries discovered several river courses, unearthing the hidden and otherwise ‘dark’ part of the globe.
History:
Gone are those days when Africa was infamous for its slave trade. Slavery had long been practiced in Africa. Between the 7th and 20th centuries, Arab slave trade took 18 million slaves from Africa via trans-Saharan and Indian Ocean routes. . As a result of industrialization, major social problems had grown in Europe: unemployment, poverty, homelessness, social displacement from rural areas, and so on. These social problems developed partly because not all people could be absorbed by the new capitalist industries. One way to resolve this problem was to acquire colonies and export this "surplus population." This led to the establishment of settler-colonies in Algeria, Tunisia, South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Mozambique, and central African areas like Zimbabwe and Zambia.
It was not until the 1930s that slavery in Africa was almost totally eliminated. Which paved the way for the second scramble for Africa via trade relations and diplomatic channels. Two countries in Asia became the forerunners of this scramble, India and China - in similar yet different ways.
Enter the Chinese
Dragon:
China’s entry into Africa is characterized by ‘an aid-for-oil
strategy’. The traditional model of Sino-African trade is one in which Africa
exported energy and raw materials (minerals, precious stones, timber, cotton,
fish products) and imported consumer goods, machine tools and textiles. Oil
ranks first among Chinese imports, accounting for 60 per cent of total imports.
Imports from Africa now represent 25 per cent of all China’s oil imports, and
this percentage is on the increase. Sixty per cent of Sudan’s oil yield and 25
per cent of that of Angola are exported to China. China also has an interest in
the raw materials and minerals needed to sustain its growth, including copper,
nickel, iron, bauxite and uranium. In 2004, 20 per cent of Africa’s mineral ores
were exported to China. The cost regimes adhered to by Chinese companies, and
the fact that Beijing prefers ‘empty’ areas, in which the safety of neither
investment, nor personnel is guaranteed, facilitates the Chinese offensive
considerably. China takes the kinds of risk that would be inconceivable for any
major Western company. China also benefits from not imposing conditions and not
requiring that the rules of transparency and good governance be observed, in
contrast with Western investment programmes.
Indian roar not
lost:
India imports 70% of its oil, much of it from the politically
volatile Middle East. Finding new suppliers to diversify its oil sources is
crucial to its energy security and Africa is an attractive option. Africa accounts for 11.4 percent of global oil production,
holding 9.4 percent of the world's reserves. India's
diamond-cutting industry – the world's largest – depends on rough diamonds from
Africa, while uranium in Niger, Uganda and Tanzania is vital for India's
nuclear power industry. There are other reasons too for India’s renewed
interest in Africa. Africa is rich in votes at the UN General Assembly, which
India needs when it pushes for a seat in the Security Council.
Realization of its strategic ambitions too hinge on cooperation with
Africa. India is keen to assert its naval power across the Indian Ocean from
Africa’s east coast to the western shores of Australia. This has prompted it to
step up naval cooperation with Africa’s Indian Ocean littorals like Seychelles,
Mauritius and Madagascar. Tackling problems like piracy off Somalia’s coast too
requires India to work with Africa. Trade with
Africa jumped from U.S. $3 billion in 2000 to $52.81 billion in 2010-11 and is
expected to exceed $90 billion by 2015.
India’s interest in Africa is thus multifaceted the focus being
energy importing hub. The trends in
trade, the diverse investment profile, as well as various initiatives to
augment technical assistance, training and capacity building in Africa, suggest
a strategy that has married components of the earlier idealistic policy with
strands of pragmatism.
Historically, India was active in Africa’s Anglophone countries
and in East Africa. It was the large Indian diaspora in countries like Kenya,
Tanzania and Mauritius that facilitated close economic relations
A comparative study of
aims of African policy:
But these idealistic aims camouflage within themselves selfish and
self-centered motives like creating a land pool, using African labour on leased
lands, potential dumping ground, international political benefits extraction of
large amounts of energy resources etc.
India is expanding its footprint in Africa so aggressively that a
mighty buzz has arisen about Sino-Indian rivalry for influence on the
continent. On the face of it, India and China are not in the same league when
it comes to trade with Africa. While India’s two-way trade with Africa soared
from about $1 billion in 2001 to $46 billion in 2010, it is eclipsed by
China’s, which surpassed $120 billion in 2010. China’s economic hard power
capabilities have successfully blocked Indian investment in Africa’s primary
sector, especially in critical countries such as Angola, Algeria, Zambia, Sudan
etc. India’s bilateral trade and investment with Africa also pale in comparison
to those of China. And the nature of the Chinese economy far greater than
India’s makes competing in Africa an extremely difficult task and presence of
high-profile Chinese ventures on the continent further challenges India’s
cultivation of strategic ties with Africa: a situation which could eventually
impact on India’s energy security, given its dependency on African resources.
Conclusion:
Coming back to
the darkness of the continent, Africa has come a long way from the slave era to
the “waka-waka” era as I would like to call it. Considering the history of
Africa and then believing that the FIFA 2010 happened in South Africa which
celebrated its first democratic non-racial election as late as 1994. So the
diamond mines of Africa have succeeded in outshining the dark curtain which
covered it for several centuries. Although Africa has benefitted a lot from
global trade but it still has a long way to go considering the wide-spread
poverty and illiteracy in Africa.
References:
- Wikipedia
- Mea website
- “Mastering modern world history”- Norman Lowe
- The Indian Express
- http://www.saiia.org.za/occasional-papers/evolving-india-africa-relations-continuity-and-change.html
- China’s ventures in Africa- Kwesi Aning and Delphine Lecoutre
--------------------------------------
Rajan Agarwal likes following the activities of India and China in Africa. You can write to him at indianpolicy2010@gmail.com
No comments:
Post a Comment